Making Herstory is the title of our new interview series featuring women who are making history. The New Agenda will be conducting and publishing these interviews regularly in the future. Watch for them!

Rhode Island State Senator Bea Lanzi

Today’s Making Herstory interview features Senator Bea Lanzi of Rhode Island’s state Senate. Senator Lanzi is in part responsible for the Lindsay Ann Burke Act of 2007, which requires dating violence education in public middle and high schools in Rhode Island. The law is the first of its kind in the country.

Despite her busy schedule, Senator Lanzi graciously answered 10 questions we had for her. This is the first part of our interview. Part Two will be published later this week.

Can you tell our readers a little about how you came to be involved in politics? Is it something you always wanted to do, or were you drawn in by specific issues?

I was interested in public service throughout college and graduate school.  While studying for my BA at RI College, I volunteered on local campaigns and I did internships at the RI State House and with our Congressional leaders.  I was involved in college student government as Student Body President and I served as President of the RI Young Democrats.  I was part of a group of young people who believed strongly in making a difference and getting involved.  I participated in programs for young democrats that took me to different states where I had the opportunity to learn and meet other young people who were motivated to get involved and make a difference. These introductions and experiences taught me much about government and policy making and deepened my desire to pursue public service.

I then went to graduate school at Emerson College, Massachusetts to pursue my MA degree in political communication.  While there, I continued my involvement in RI and Massachusetts government, doing internships in both states with Congressional leaders.  During this period, I was also hired to work on the campaign staff of Bruce Sundlun, during his successful campaign for RI Governor in 1990.  I worked for him while continuing work on my MA degree.

I completed my graduate studies and received my MA degree in 1991.  RI was in the midst of a banking crisis, it was a difficult time.  I was motivated to run for office by the desire to be part of the solution, to be involved in the important conversations that were affecting all of us.  When the 1992 election cycle came around, there was a big turnover in our RI state legislature with many new, first time candidates running for office.  I was one of them.  I ran for public office as a candidate for RI State Representative in 1992.  I defeated an incumbent in the democratic primary and was elected in the general election.

What aspect of your life prior to becoming involved in politics do you think best prepared for the offices you’ve held?

I was first elected to the office of State Representative in 1992 and then elected to the RI State Senate in 2002.  I have completed 18 years of service in the General Assembly; and this January I will begin my 10^th term, entering my 19^th year of service.

I was 25 when first elected and just out of graduate school.  I did not have a lot of professional experience, but my enthusiasm for public service, my desire to make a positive difference and my fresh perspective were important in making me an effective legislator.  Today, after years of service, I still have the desire to make a positive difference and the enthusiasm for public service that I had when I was first elected.  I have cultivated the ability to work with diverse stakeholders and colleagues to find solutions to our problems.  And, I always try to keep that fresh perspective I had many years ago by listening with open ears to all sides of an argument, not being afraid to learn from others and taking the time to study and know the issues.

You and your colleague Rep. Eileen S. Naughton introduced the innovative 2007 Lindsay Ann Burke Act, which provides for dating violence education in the public school curriculum for middle and high school students. Can you tell our readers about the some of the specifics of this law and what it took to get it passed?

The Lindsay Ann Burke Act was enacted in 2007.  It is an effort to protect those most vulnerable to dating violence by requiring schools to provide dating violence education for middle school and high school students. This legislation requires that school districts develop a model dating violence policy and a policy to address incidents of dating violence involving students. Each school district is also expected to provide violence training to school staff who have significant contact with students, with such training to include basic principles of dating violence and warning signs of dating violence. The bill also calls on each school district to incorporate age-appropriate dating violence education into the health curriculum for students in grades 7 through 12.

We were fortunate to have the Burke family championing this issue; and we worked with the Attorney General, our school administrators, teachers, community advocates and other stakeholders.  Through collaboration, the legislation passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate.  It was the first legislation of its kind in the nation.

How effective has the law been?

We have been working and talking with school personnel and to date, discussions we have had indicate that the results are positive- dialogue is happening in schools and they are telling us that response from students has been positive.   We will be formally pursuing reports from school districts during the upcoming legislative session.

What other issues are you currently passionate about? Are you working on other issues that our readers might find interesting?

The economy is our priority in the RI Legislature and we are looking at a number of economic development programs and innovative educational programs to assist Rhode Islanders during the economic recovery.  Last year we passed a package of legislation aimed at helping our small business owners during this difficult time.

In the area of violence prevention, I am now serving on the Senate Committee on Bullying and Cyberbullying.  Our members include legislators, state police, school personnel, members of the judicial branch of government, school administrators and advocates in the field.  We have been going throughout RI and listening to students, parents, teachers, school personnel and officials who are providing us input about how these issues are affecting their communities.  Our local school districts have education and regulations dealing with bullying and cyberbullying; but we are looking at the feasibility of a comprehensive, consistent approach, a model policy, that all districts can follow to address incidents of bullying and cyberbullying  involving students.  We are also looking at possible legislation to provide police with tools they need to investigate and prosecute criminal cases of bullying and cyberbullying.  And, there could be other ideas as we continue our work during the next few months.  We anticipate introducing legislation this upcoming session that begins in January 2011.

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The New Agenda thanks Senator Lanzi for her time and thoughtful answers to our questions. Look for Part Two later this week!